Sacramento, California – As California’s legal cannabis industry teeters on the brink, Governor Gavin Newsom has signaled his willingness to help block an imminent tax hike that many believe could push the industry closer to collapse. But with days to go before the July 1 deadline, advocates and operators are left wondering why the governor hasn’t done more to actively shepherd a fix through the Legislature.
On Wednesday, Newsom’s office released a statement affirming that he would sign any bill that halts the planned excise tax increase, which would spike from 15% to 19% next week. But the statement also put the burden on state lawmakers to deliver a plan to his desk. That leaves little time and even fewer guarantees, despite months of warnings that the higher tax could devastate the struggling legal market.
California’s cannabis industry had hoped this year’s budget would suspend the tax hike, but the final budget agreement released this week did not include that measure. Now, advocates are scrambling to attach a suspension to a “budget trailer bill” or push through a separate bill from Assemblymember Matt Haney that has already passed the Assembly unanimously. Haney’s bill still needs Senate approval before the governor can sign it, and with just days before the state’s new fiscal year begins, its fate is uncertain…